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Rukshad Davar chalks down his key insights and takeouts from the Union Budget 2020. “The new tax proposals in the budget will significantly benefit foreign companies in India and will improve their return on investment in India. One, the removal of the dividend distribution tax at the Indian company level will leave a company with…

Introduction India’s Union Budget (the “Budget”) was announced on February 1, 2020, and the Finance Bill, 2020 (the “Finance Bill”) was tabled in Parliament. In a nutshell, the government has attempted to pay heed to the consumption slowdown and reduced the personal income tax rates up to INR1,500,000, which should give more money to wage…

At the end of December, the Indian government promulgated the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 (the “Ordinance”) to iron out certain issues faced by buyers of assets in a corporate insolvency resolution process (the “CIRP”). While the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the “Code”) has largely achieved its objectives, certain aspects of the…

On November 15, 2019, the Supreme Court (the “Court”) ruled on several contentious aspects of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the “Code”) and put an end to the long-drawn-out litigation in the insolvency resolution process of one of India’s largest steel manufacturers, Essar Steel India Limited (“ESIL”).  This update highlights the key aspects of…

Background Previously, foreign direct investment (“FDI”) in insurance intermediaries was treated at par with FDI in insurance companies and was restricted up to 49% under the automatic route.  Insurance intermediaries (including, insurance brokers, re-insurance brokers, insurance consultants, corporate agents, third party administrator, surveyors and loss assessors) vehemently argued this to be unfair as they did…

In a recent ruling, a single judge of the Delhi High Court (the “Delhi HC”) has held that a global injunction can be issued for removal of defamatory data, if the data has originally been uploaded from a computer resource in India.  We have discussed the Delhi HC’s judgment in this update. Background The origin…

Last month, the Indian government enacted: (i) the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (the “CP Act 2019”), which, when notified, will replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (the “CP Act 1986”); and (ii) the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 (the “MV Amendment Act”), which will amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (the “MV Act”).  The CP…

Today (September 20, 2019) the Indian government has introduced the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, to make certain amendments in the Income-tax Act 1961 (the “IT Act”). We have summarized below some of the key changes. Option to pay a reduced corporate tax rate of 22% In order to promote growth and investment, a new…

Introduction Addressing India’s need to attract investments to revitalize its economy, on August 28, 2019, the Union Cabinet (the “Cabinet”) has approved a number of changes to the foreign direct investment (“FDI”) regime.  The reforms cover the single brand retail trading (“SBRT”), digital media and coal mining sectors.  This update discusses the key changes approved…

On August 21, 2019, India’s securities market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (the “SEBI”), introduced a plethora of changes to Indian securities laws and regulations.  This update discusses the key changes. Background In recent months, a multitude of factors including, inter alia, the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, a…